Online extra: House OKs inclusive VAWA

NEWS

by Lisa Keen

In a major victory for Democrats, the House of
Representatives voted Thursday (February 28) to reauthorize the Violence
Against Women Act with a bill that includes language to ensure that victims of
domestic violence can receive assistance from federally funded program
regardless of their sexual orientation. The vote was 286-138.

The legislation originally passed the Senate February 12 on
a 78-22 vote, but House Republicans initially introduced their own version of
the bill – one that excluded the language to include gay victims and to
provide greater protections for Native American and immigrant women. At the
time, White House and Democratic leaders in the House expressed their
disappointment about the exclusion of LGBT provisions and others.

Following Thursday's vote, President Barack Obama issued a
statement saying he was "pleased to see the House of Representatives come
together and vote to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women
Act."

"Today's vote will go even further by continuing to
reduce domestic violence, improving how we treat victims of rape, and extending
protections to Native American women and members of the LGBT community,"
the president said.

An unidentified aide to an unidentified House Republican
leader told a Washington Post blog early
in the week that a House version of the bill, which excluded language
protecting LGBT people, did not discriminate against LGBT people. The aide
criticized the Senate version of the bill for "enumerating actual categories
of people that are covered" in a way that "requires constant
updating."

"We're giving the states the resources they need, and
we're also making sure no one is discriminated against," said the aide.
The aide did not explain how the House version ensures no one is discriminated
against.

On the floor of the House Thursday, many Republicans echoed
the point, saying there was no language in the bill to exclude anyone.

"I would just ask my colleagues on other side of the
aisle to please point to anywhere in the House bill that coverage for anyone is
denied," said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington). "The
House bill covers all victims. It does not exclude anyone for any characteristic.
In fact, it directs the attorney general to make a rule regarding anti-discrimination
efforts as he sees fit." And she said the grants associated with the VAWA
are "authorized to permit funding to go toward men as well as women."

To some extent, debate over the inclusion or exclusion of LGBT
victims of domestic abuse was conducted through discussion of protecting
"all women" or "all victims," rather than LGBT people
– including gay men – specifically.

Eric Cantor (R-Virginia), the House Republicans' majority
leader, repeatedly emphasized on the floor Thursday his desire to help
"all women" through reauthorization of the VAWA program, but he
limited his support to the House Republican version of the bill which does not
prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Twice, Cantor seemed to
correct himself – changing "all individuals" and "all
people" to "all women."

Openly gay Representative David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island),
while mentioning members of the LGBT community, also emphasized the importance
of protecting "all women."

House Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland)
emphasized the importance of passing the "fully inclusive" version of
the bill protecting "all" victims, as did numerous other Democrats.

But some Democrats were more direct.

"I don't believe that my Republican colleagues, if they
saw a lesbian woman being beaten by their neighbor, that they would not want to
have that violence stopped," said Representative Joe Crowley (D-New York).

Representative Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) noted that all
members of the House seemed to be against violence against women, "but the
question is which women?"

"The Senate bill protects LGBT victims but the House
bill strikes LGBT women as underserved communities and strikes the language
that would have them as a protected group," said Moore.

Representative Mike Quigley (D-Illinois) spoke forcefully in
support of protecting LGBT people, asking, "Do they not feel the same
pain?"

Many Republicans, including Representative Charles Dent
(R-Pennsylvania), did speak in favor of the inclusive Senate bill, as did the
national Log Cabin Republicans group.

"Today, many Republicans are taking a stand for a more
modern and inclusive GOP. Our leaders in Congress should be weary of leaving
the LGBT community out of legislation that is intended to protect all Americans
from domestic violence," said Gregory Angelo, executive director of Log
Cabin Republicans.

"Including LGBT provisions merely codifies equal
protection and clarifies an area in which there was confusion regarding the
application of prior versions of VAWA to LGBT individuals," said Angelo.
"The Republican Party must continue to be the party of equal rights for
all Americans."

Prior to passage of the Senate version of the bill, the
House defeated the Republican version of the bill on a 166-257 vote.

"It's tremendous that both Republican and Democratic
leaders came together to ensure that all domestic violence victims, including
those who are LGBT, will not face discrimination when they seek services,"
said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin.

D'Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar
Association, issued a statement noting that 61 percent of LGBT victims of
domestic abuse had been turned away from shelters and 85 percent of service
providers working with LGBT victims had observed discrimination based on sexual
orientation and/or gender identity.

"We are grateful," said Kemnitz, "that the
Violence Against Women Act will now be a powerful tool to protect our community
and ensure justice is served."